ianmichaelthomas
Has Anyone Seen St George? Here Be Dragons!
Australia, the ancient continent, is still home to dragons...look out, villagers!
These are not the fire-breathing, flying dragons, fortunately for us.
This is a Gippsland water dragon. Water Dragons are Australia's largest Agamid (Dragon) Lizard. Males can attain a length of up to 100cm, however about 80% of this length is tail. Males show bolder coloration, with red chests and larger heads than females. Color is less distinct in juveniles.
Water dragons are mainly a coastal species occurring inland to the Great Dividing Range, except in NSW where they venture further inland. The Eastern Water Dragon occurs from far north QLD to around Nowra in southern NSW. From Nowra, the Eastern Water Dragon is replaced by the Gippsland Water Dragon. This occurs from Nowra through to eastern VIC reaching inland to the ACT.
The Australian Water Dragon or Eastern Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, is an arboreal agamid species native to Eastern Australia from Victoria north to Queensland, there is also a small population in the South-East coast of the State of South Australia.
Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for swimming and climbing, and have a prominent nuchal and vertebral crest. (A nuchal crest is a central row of enlarged spikes at the base of the head. These spikes continue down the spine, getting smaller as they reach the base of the tail.)
The Australian Water Dragon is the only species of the genus Physignathus in Australia. The other species, Physignathus cocincinus, lives in South-East Asia.
Water dragons eat a wide variety of insects (aquatic and terrestrial), molluscs, small fish and turtle hatchlings, native fruit, and they will scavenge around picnic areas and urban parks.
Water Dragons are Australia's largest Agamid (Dragon) Lizard. Males can attain a length of up to 100cm, however about 80% of this length is tail. Males show bolder coloration, with red chests and larger heads than females. Color is less distinct in juveniles.
Eastern Water Dragons tend to be olive green to grey above with black or black and white cross-bands along the body. These may be highly visible or very dull. A black band extends horizontally from the eye to the throat. Combinations of red, yellow and aqua can also be seen on the head. Males get a very red underside that gets brighter as the lizards reach maturity. On the other hand, Gippsland Water Dragons tend to be olive green to aqua blue all over with bright or dull black cross-bands. The males have wonderfully colourful throats normally striped with green, yellow and blue. The black stripe from the eye to the throat is absent in Gippsland Water Dragons. The tail of both sub-species is strongly banded.
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Has Anyone Seen St George? Here Be Dragons!
Australia, the ancient continent, is still home to dragons...look out, villagers!
These are not the fire-breathing, flying dragons, fortunately for us.
This is a Gippsland water dragon. Water Dragons are Australia's largest Agamid (Dragon) Lizard. Males can attain a length of up to 100cm, however about 80% of this length is tail. Males show bolder coloration, with red chests and larger heads than females. Color is less distinct in juveniles.
Water dragons are mainly a coastal species occurring inland to the Great Dividing Range, except in NSW where they venture further inland. The Eastern Water Dragon occurs from far north QLD to around Nowra in southern NSW. From Nowra, the Eastern Water Dragon is replaced by the Gippsland Water Dragon. This occurs from Nowra through to eastern VIC reaching inland to the ACT.
The Australian Water Dragon or Eastern Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii, is an arboreal agamid species native to Eastern Australia from Victoria north to Queensland, there is also a small population in the South-East coast of the State of South Australia.
Australian water dragons have long powerful limbs and claws for swimming and climbing, and have a prominent nuchal and vertebral crest. (A nuchal crest is a central row of enlarged spikes at the base of the head. These spikes continue down the spine, getting smaller as they reach the base of the tail.)
The Australian Water Dragon is the only species of the genus Physignathus in Australia. The other species, Physignathus cocincinus, lives in South-East Asia.
Water dragons eat a wide variety of insects (aquatic and terrestrial), molluscs, small fish and turtle hatchlings, native fruit, and they will scavenge around picnic areas and urban parks.
Water Dragons are Australia's largest Agamid (Dragon) Lizard. Males can attain a length of up to 100cm, however about 80% of this length is tail. Males show bolder coloration, with red chests and larger heads than females. Color is less distinct in juveniles.
Eastern Water Dragons tend to be olive green to grey above with black or black and white cross-bands along the body. These may be highly visible or very dull. A black band extends horizontally from the eye to the throat. Combinations of red, yellow and aqua can also be seen on the head. Males get a very red underside that gets brighter as the lizards reach maturity. On the other hand, Gippsland Water Dragons tend to be olive green to aqua blue all over with bright or dull black cross-bands. The males have wonderfully colourful throats normally striped with green, yellow and blue. The black stripe from the eye to the throat is absent in Gippsland Water Dragons. The tail of both sub-species is strongly banded.
La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia